From Alternet: http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/former-indiana-governor-attempted-censor-howard-zinn
The AP revealed emails showing Daniels’ vendetta against Zinn, whom he called “anti-American academic.”
By April M. Short
July 18, 2013
In his groundbreaking work A People’s History of the United States, a nti-war activist and historian Howard Zinn’s reframed the glorified slant on U.S. history provided by most textbooks and accounts. His works sparked a generation of historical reflection and brought to light the untold, often unflattering truths about our national past. When Zinn passed away in 2010, his New York Times obituary quoted a book review by historian Eric Foner: “Historians may well view [ A People's History of the United States] as a step toward a coherent new version of American history.”
But not everyone is a fan of Zinn’s work. Indiana’s former governor Mitch Daniels currently the president of Purdue University attempted to censor Zinn’s legacy while in office, according an article published by the Associated Press last week. Via a Freedom of Information Act request, AP obtained emails in which Daniels asked classrooms in the state to ban Zinn’s works and “clean up” its college curriculum.
In the e-mail records AP released, Daniels requested that public schools refrain from using Zinn’s work in their curriculum. He also tried to initiate a statewide investigation aimed at identifying similar works and disqualifying them from being considered “credit-worthy.”
In one email with the subject line “Howard Zinn,” the republican governor wrote: “This terrible anti-American academic finally passed away.”
He continued on to say that A People’s History of the United States is, “a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page.”
Continue reading at: http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/former-indiana-governor-attempted-censor-howard-zinn
